


Lucid

by florin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst I guess, M/M, also i love keith i promise, and bear with me bc im still figuring this website out, but here i am, i should be asleep, im trying i promise, kinda happy at the end i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-20 01:18:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11325657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/florin/pseuds/florin
Summary: Keith is forced to face his greatest fear, over and over again, until he understands why.





	1. Day One - Day Three

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably already a thing and its super over-done but I'm not even sorry.

_Day One_

"Keith, how many times are you going to look at your watch today?" asked the girl next to the aforementioned boy. She peered at the seemingly anxious boy from behind a large stack of books she cradled in her arms.

"I have to get out of here at exactly two. I'm just making sure I don't miss it," Keith answered her. He subconsciously tapped his left index finger against the counter he stood at. His eyes flicked back at his watch every few seconds. It seemed as if the minute hand was at a standstill. He swore it had been 1:47 for an hour.

"You know Keith, a watched clock never ticks," said the girl knowingly. She began to line her books up on a cart. One by one , the pile got smaller which allowed her to get a better view of the boy across from her. He sighed deeply.

"Yeah, Allura, I know. But, Lance and I are supposed to go to this meetup for some writer he's obsessed with, and since he doesn't have a car I have to drive. So if I'm late and we miss it he's going to kill me. His exact words. And despite what impression you may have of me, I still semi-value my life," Keith looked back at his watch. He stopped tapping his finger when someone approached the counter he stood at. Allura continued lining up her books as Keith assisted the man at his counter. After Keith had directed the man towards the science fiction section, Allura spoke up.

"You know what, it's almost two. Get going, I'll cover you," Allura placed the last book on the cart and pushed it behind the counter.

"Are you sure? Won't you get in trouble? Won't I get in trouble?" Keith raised his eyebrows as he stood to face the girl.

"I'm the manager. Manager's don't get in trouble, and if a manager tells you to do something, you don't get in trouble either," she responds, fixing a piece of her hair that had slid out of place.

"You're the shift manager, that's not the same thing," Keith deadpanned.

"Listen, do you want to leave or not? I'm giving you an out here," she asked in a this-is-the-final-offer sort of way.

"Fine, fine, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow," Keith smiled genuinely. Allura nodded and took Keith's place at the counter. Keith sneakily made his way to the door marked "Employee's Only" and poked his head inside, making sure the real manager was nowhere to be seen. Once he was sure no one was inside, he clocked out, grabbed his coat and backpack and made his was to the back parking lot. As soon as he pushed open the door to the parking lot, the biting cold of the November air chilled his entire body. He dropped his backpack onto the frosty pavement in in order to put on his jacket. After managing to pull on his coat with his already freezing fingers, he picked up his backpack and made his way to his car.

Keith fished around in his coat pocket for his keys. It took him a second to actually grab them since his fingers were already so cold, Once he finally got a grip, he unlocked the car and climbed inside. He was greeted with an equally as cold interior. Despite this, he took off the jacket and hoodie he had been wearing. He hated driving with jackets on, it made him feel restricted. However, he was more exposed to his car seat. The leather of the car seat, having been chilled by the winter air, sent chills through Keith's body.

"Thank God my heat barely works," he muttered to himself as he started the ignition. The car started without a hitch, but the vents barely choked out warm air. Keith allowed the car to warm up for a few minutes before tearing out of the Barnes and Noble lot at an unreasonably fast speed.

Keith reached Lance's place of work at 2:08. Lance stood outside the front doors of the Petsmart with his hands crossed in front of his chest. When he noticed Keith's car across the street he ran towards it in a craze.

"You're late," Lance said, as he opened the door of the Honda and threw in his bag, "Jesus its cold in here."

"You could have taken an Uber," Keith retorted.

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't have been able to complain about him being late," Lance began pulling off his jacket as Keith drove away.

"Well, you still could have, but it be an asshole thing to do," Keith shrugged, "still an asshole thing to do to me, but I'm used to it."

"You calling me an asshole?" Lance laughed as he unpinned his Petsmart name tag from his violently blue work shirt.

"If the shoe fits, McClain," Keith looked over to catch Lance halfway done taking off his shirt, "Oh, shit, I don't have any singles, Lance. I would have gotten some cash if I knew I was getting a personal strip show."

"Shut up," Lance muttered, mildly embarrassed. He unzipped the bag at his feet and shuffled everything around in order to find something to put on. He yanked a green sweater from the bag and pulled it over his head. Lance glanced over at Keith who was wearing the shirt he knew Lance hated. It was black and covered in holes.

"Really, you're going to meet Benjamin Sáenz in that?" Lance said with distaste evident in his voice, "How do you even get away with wearing that at work?'

"I wear a hoodie over it. And I'm wearing it because it's my _aesthetic_ ," Keith replied knowingly, as Lance spritzed himself with a bottle of cologne in an attempt to erase the faint scent of dog hair and kibble, "just like your's is modern day James Potter."

"Oh my Gooood, Keith," Lance whined, "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm obviously Remus."

"We are not having this discussion again. I've already told you that you're nothing like him."

"It's not all about personality, Keith! I have the perfect look!"

"Personality is a major factor in which Marauder you are! It's not only looks!"

"Okay, well I'm sorry that we can't all perfectly embody our inner Marauder, _Sirius Black_."

"Sorry that I'm the perfect mix of punk and beauty, it's a curse."

"And I'm sorry that I'm the perfect Remus Lupin."

Keith glanced over at Lance. Lance's eyes were trained on the road.

"You're not," Keith whispered, still looking at Lance.

"Keith, stop!"

"Wha-."

Before Keith could finish his question, Lance launched himself at the steering wheel and jerked it towards him. Keith caught sight of a deer in the road. The car swerved out of it's way just in time. Keith slammed on the brake, but it was useless. The Honda had hit a patch of black ice and the wheels were refusing to do what Keith tried to get them to do. He yanked the emergency brake up, but it only made things worse. The wheel's froze completely as the Honda slid onto another patch of ice. Keith threw the emergency brake back down to turn it off, and jerked the wheel in the other direction. The car responded and found itself in the lane of oncoming traffic, at the same time as a Chevy Suburban barreled towards them. Keith tried to get the car into the correct lane, but only managed to get the passengers side of the car in perfect line with the shiny black SUV.

Lance grabbed for Keith's hand. Keith closed his eyes. The last thing he heard was Lance screaming something unintelligible. Then everything was as white as the snow that covered the November landscape.

 

_Day Two_

The obnoxious buzzing of his phone woke him. One text after another came through, making the wooden nightstand next to Keith's bed vibrate loudly. He rolled over groggily and reached for his phone which continued to buzz in his hand. He opened it up to find 72 messages. 71 of which were from Lance. He quickly scrolled through them and was reminded that later he would be driving himself and Lance to meet writer Benjamin Sáenz after they both got off of work. He hated that he was merely Lance's driver, but in return Lance had bought Keith's ticket. He had never read any of the writer's books, but Lance constantly raved about him, so Keith figured he must be pretty good. Lance was difficult to please.

Text 72 was from his friend from work, Allura.

**Message: allura**

**Hey, you coming into work today? You're usually early to help get ready for the day so I thought I'd check in.**

Keith glanced at the calendar on his phone. Saturday, November fourteenth had a red do underneath it, signifying that he did, in fact, have work. He looked at his phone to check the time. He had to be at work in twenty-two minutes and it was a ten minute drive. He quickly scrambled out of bed and pulled on the closest clothes he could find. They smelled vaguely of Lance's cologne which he found odd since he hadn't seen Lance in two days. He grabbed his backpack and popped a piece of gum in his mouth to compensate for the lack of brushing his teeth. He hurried down the stairs and rifled through the fridge for something to eat. Like his clothes, he grabbed the first things he saw. These turned out to be a bag of grapes and a bottle of cold brew coffee that was probably his mom's. He told himself he'd buy her another at the store later.

Keith glanced down at his phone again. Eleven minutes till work. He threw on his coat and made his way to the front door, pulling it shut and locking it behind him. He managed to drop his keys into the snow four times on the very short walk to his car. When he finally got inside he had nine minutes. Keith sped most of the way to work, but with good reason. He clocked in at precisely 9:00, keeping his record of always being on time at one hundred percent. After hanging up his jacket and backpack, he made his way into the store where a few customers had already began browsing for books.

Keith took his place at the help desk in the center of the store. He set his grapes and coffee on the shelf beneath the counter and proceeded to rest his head in his hands. Allura found her way to Lance who was deep in thought when she arrived.

"Earth to Keith." Allura waved a hand in front of the boy's eyes. He had been staring blankly at one of the book cases.

"Sorry, just spacing out," Keith chuckled, lifting his head from his palms to face Allura.

"I could see that. Everything okay? You have a weird vibe right now," Allura stepped around a box of books to join Keith behind the counter.

"Yeah, I don't know. I think it's just because I slept in on a work day. And my clothes smell like Lance which is probably what's got me messed up," Keith stared down at his jeans, shirt and hoodie. They looked clean and unworn, so why they smelled like cologne was a complete mystery to him.

"Your clothes smell like Lance?" Allura wiggled her eyebrows at Keith while a smirk tugged at her lips. Allura had always been overly invested in Keith and Lance's friendship, due to the fact Keith often talked about their problems to Allura. Allura secretly believed that they liked each other because of what Keith has told her. Of course, the one time she had brought it up, Keith had denied it to no end. Him and Lance were just friends and would only be just friends. This didn't stop Allura from teasing Keith, though.

"Oh my God, Allura, no," Keith shook his head.

"Hey, not judging," Allura laughed, "I respect all."

"Allura, please. I've already explained this," Keith felt his cheeks heat up as Allura continued to tease him

"Alright, alright. But if it does ever happen, you better tell me," Allura smirked once more.

"Jesus, I'm taking this box to the store room," Keith leaned down to pick up the box Allura had stepped around earlier. Keith made his way to the back of the store where the store room was located. He pushed his way through the door and navigated his way to the shelves that held books. He set down the box on the bottom rung of a ladder so he could break the tape that held it closed. Once he did, he opened the box and determined where he should put the books. Most of them were revamped _Lord of the Rings_ books with new covers. Keith stuck them in with the old copies that had been in storage as long as he could remember. After shoving all the books into the limited space he could find, Keith picked up the empty box and brought it with him into the store. He sat the box by the door to the back hallway and figured someone would eventually recycle it. As he was making his way back to the help desk, he felt a buzz in his back pocket. He had forgotten to leave his phone in his backpack. It was too late to put it there now, so he pulled it out on his walk back to the desk.

**Message: lance mccpaininmyass**

**aight leave me on read i dont need yall**

Keith read the text and quickly responded.

 **two** **i'll be there,** **calm down**

Before he could put his phone away, another text came through.

**Message: lance mccpaininmyass**

**ahhh there you are you menace why are u on ur phone arent u working**

Keith returned to his counter, but continued to respond to Lance.

**the way you text is disgusting, have i told you that? and yeah, but you're working too aren't you so aren't you being hypocritical?**

Keith retired his phone to his pocket when a woman came up to the counter asking him to search a book for her. After Keith politely informed her that the store didn't carry the book she asked for, she very rudely blamed millennials for killing the book store and then stormed away.

"I'm not even a millennial," Keith muttered as he pulled his phone back out.

**2 Messages: lance mccpaininmyass**

**yeah lots of times but u literally text like a grandma so**

**fuck i gotta go jasper got lose in the store two o clock DO NOT BE LATE OR I WILL KILL YOU**

Keith decided not respond, since it seemed Lance was busy chasing something around Petsmart.

The day managed to drag slower than it usually did. The entire time he stood at his counter, Keith had a creepy sense of déjà vu. It was more than the "I've been here before" feeling. It was an "I know exactly what's going to happen next" feeling. So, when Allura came over to Keith at precisely 1:47, he knew what she would say as he stared at his watch.

"Keith, how many times are you going to look at your watch today?" she asked him, from behind a pile of books. When Allura saw Keith mouthing the exact words she just spoke without even looking up from his wrist, she took a sharp step back. This made a significant amount of the books she had been carrying tumble to the ground. "Okay, you realize you just read my mind or something, right?"

Keith leaned down to help Allura pick up the books. The entire time Allura looked at Keith with an equal amount of fear and concern.

"You know what Keith, why don't you get going. It's almost 2:00, and you've been really off today," Allura said as she continued stacking the books next to her.

"You sure? Won't we both get in trouble?" Keith questioned, standing up.

"I'm a manager, we'll both be fine," Allura laughed, setting the last book on the pile.

"You're the shift manager," Keith paused as a sense of familiarity washed over him, "that's, uh, not the same thing." His voiced trailed off as Allura looked at him through worried eyes.

"You know what, I'm not offering anymore. Get out of here. Get some fresh air and go pick up Lance. Hopefully meeting that author gets you back to your normal self," Allura waved for him to leave.

"Yeah, hopefully," Keith agreed quietly, "see you tomorrow, Allura."

By the time he got to Petsmart to pick up Lance, Keith felt immensely better. The strange familiarity that loomed over him had finally lifted.

However, it was 2:02 and Lance was nowhere to be seen. Keith turned the key once to turn off the car battery. At 2:05, Lance ran across the street to Keith's car.

"Is the world ending? You're on time for once," Lance joked at Keith.

"Hey, I can do things right every once in a while," Keith spoke too soon. When he turned the key to try and restart the battery, the car merely sputtered and coughed.

" _Fuck_ ," Lance muttered under his breath, "I knew it was too good to be true."

"Chill out ," Keith continued to turn the key until the car finally choked itself to life, "see, my car may have it's issues, but she's dependable. Kinda like you, Lance." Keith smirked at Lance's clearly annoyed face. Keith began driving in the direction of the meetup.

"You know, Keith, some people say that teasing someone is the first sign of love," Lance raised his eyebrows as he pulled of his jacket.

"Sorry Lance, you're not my type," Keith shrugged.

"Why, because I'm a guy?"

"No, because you're an ass," Keith gave Lance a sympathetic smile.

"Fair enough."

A few seconds later, Keith was hit with another wave of déjà vu.

"Deer," Keith whispered.

"What?" Lance asked, looking at Keith inquisitively.

"Deer!" Keith screamed. He jerked the wheel towards himself. The car fishtailed into the other lane and came to a stop. Keith took a deep breath, foot flooring the brake. He allowed himself a second of relaxation before moving his foot off of the brake. He pressed gas only to realize the back left tire was stuck in a snowy pothole.

"No, no, no, no, not now," he panicked. Lance sat in the passenger's seat, eyes focused on Keith. Neither boy saw the shiny black Chevy speed around the corner. Neither boy screamed. Metal against pavement screeched into the winter silence. Glass flew into the air and blending in with the softly falling snow. Everything went silent. Silent and white.

 

_Day Three_

Keith shot up in his bed. His chest heaved with every breath. His shirt stuck to him and sweat dripped down his face.

_Lance. Lance. Lance._

He picked up his phone from the nightstand. The clock read 5:48 AM, Saturday, November fourteenth. There was a notification on his screen reminding him that he had work at 9:00. Keith inhaled sharply as his eyes scanned the screen.

 _Yesterday was Saturday_ , he thought, _yesterday was definitely Saturday, and I definitely worked yesterday. Right?_

He allowed his breathing to steady before he climbed out of bed. He took a cold shower to try and clear his head, before slipping into some sweatpants and a hoodie. He quietly made his way downstairs, even though he knew his parents were still out of town. The sun was still nowhere to be seen so the first floor was almost pitch black. He flicked on the light above the stove and made his way towards the fridge. His right hand was clenched tightly around his phone as he reached for the handle for the fridge. Keith willed himself to calm down. He pulled open the fridge and found it relatively empty. He spotted a the bag of grapes and coffee in the corner. A chill went down his spine.

"I'm freaking out over fucking grapes," Keith laughed to himself, "The days are repeating and I'm scared of grapes. I'm fucking crazy."

Keith rubbed his eyes and grabbed the coffee. He couldn't tell which feeling was more overwhelming. The feeling that he was crazy and had woken up from some hyper realistic dream, or the feeling that he was right and he was stuck in some endless cycle of deadly Saturdays. He sat down at his kitchen table and uncapped the coffee. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out to see that an Amber Alert had come through signaling that there was going to be a blizzard in his area. He shrugged and figured he'd wait and see if it started before he had to go to work.

He sat in the silence of his house, slowly finishing the cold brew. At around 6:45, his phone began buzzing nonstop on the table.

**14 Messages: lance mccpaininmyass**

**mornin beautiful**

**jkjk**

**i doubt ur even awake**

**anyway**

**are u excited for today**

**we get to meet the greatest writer of all time**

**and yooooooooooou get to drive**

**unless this shitty blizzard actually happens**

**then he'll prob cancel**

**but then i dont have to go to work**

**and neither would u right**

**bc you live like 25 mins from barnes and noble**

**omg it says my messages are read**

**the great keith has awoken**

Keith read through the texts quickly. Lance continued to send things even after Keith had started typing. He was unable to keep up with the flow of messages so his ended up being relatively long.

**morning princess. hate to break it to you but the blizzard is definitely coming so rip you, but your writer guy will probably just reschedule so it's fine. also no i wouldn't have to go to work, i'm probably going to call in sick anyway, i feel really off today. also random question but did you happen to have a weird dream last night?**

Keith set his phone back down on the table and went to toss the empty coffee bottle in the recycling bin in his garage. When he came back there were more messages from Lance.

**9 Messages: lance mccpaininmyass**

**listen the blizzard is not**

**wait**

**shit**

**its starting to snow**

**well fuck**

**okay ill call off work too im coming over at 8**

**we can see if benjamin cancels**

**also i can finally beat ur ass in mariokart**

**also no why**

**was i in ur dreams keith ;))))**

Keith shook his head. Lance was his usual, flirty self even at seven in the morning.

**alright, 8. are you walking here? that's kinda dumb since its so cold. and yeah, you were, but you died :(**

The response to this was immediate.

**2 Messages: lance mccpaininmyass**

**yeah im walking im immune to cold**

**also fuck u**

Keith sent one more text before putting his phone away.

**Hey Allura, I'm feeling really off today and I'm not even sure I'll make it to work with this blizzard. Could you cover for me?**

Allura answered almost immediately.

**Message: allura**

**Marty actually told me to text everyone that's he's closing the store today because he lives so far away and the blizzard is going to make it really hard for him to get to work. So you're a-okay to take the day off. See you tomorrow and stay safe!**

He told her thanks and then stuffed his phone into his sweatpants pocket. He shuffled into the living room and plopped down on the couch. Lance was right. It was already snowing relatively hard. The once black street was a blanket of white, and the grass barely peeked through the glittering snow. Keith watched the fat snowflakes blow and twirl in the sky. It always made him feel at peace.

Time didn't seem to move for almost an hour. That was until Lance sent him a text that he was outside. Keith went to open his front door so Lance could come inside, but Lance was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm in the street!" Keith heard a shout from the end of his driveway. He padded outside so he could see around his car. There Lance was, lying in the street, making snow angels.

"That's an awful idea," Keith yelled back.

"Snow angels for my angel," Lance said making a heart with his hands towards Keith. Despite the cold, blistery wind, Keith felt his cheeks get hot. He shook his head in disapproval to try and cover it up.

"Awe, come on. That was a good one," Lance laid back down in the snow and continued moving his arms and legs against the snow.

"I'm serious Lance, you're going to freeze or something," Keith yelled to the still snow-angeling boy.

"Freeze or something? Like what, get hit by a car?" Lance laughed off Keith's worry.

As Keith stood on his porch, his entire dream came rushing back to him. The deer. The pothole. The car. He remembered it all. It had happened twice now, the dream, and while the first one was a bit fuzzier he still remembered the ending. Keith then came to a realization. Neither of them was a dream.

"The days _are_ repeating," Keith gulped, "Lance please just get out of the street."

Lance picked up on the worry in Keith's voice, but continued his snow angel. Keith stepped off of his porch so he had a full view of the street.

"Lance, please!"

"Alright, mom," Lance sat up slowly. Behind him Keith's neighbor, and everyday-Barnes-and-Noble-visitor Pidge, was shoveling their driveway. Pidge gave Keith a small wave that wasn't returned, as Keith was still fully focused on making sure that his Lance wouldn't die  _again_. 

Lance stood up and brushed all the snow off of his jeans. He held his arms out as if asking Keith, "How do I look?". Lance the realized he had dropped his phone somewhere in the street so he began kicking the surrounding snow to try and find it.

"Lance, come on," Keith yelled, stress apparent in his voice, "I'm freezing."

"Jeez, Keith, go inside then, I'll be there in a second."

"Lance, look out!" Keith began sprinting down the driveway.

_Not again, please, please. Don't make me live through this again._

"Hold o-"

"Lance!"

Keith screamed at the top of his lungs. The same, shiny black car was flying down the road. Keith stood horrified as is barreled into Lance, not even braking to see what had happened. Keith fell to his knees. Words and emotions escaped him. As everything went white, as it had the last two times, Keith realized that Pidge's driveway wasn't clear and they had completely disappeared.

 


	2. Day Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please just let me be crazy.

_Day Four_

"Lance!" Keith screamed and screamed before realizing he was back in his bedroom, "No, oh please no. Please don't be Saturday."

Keith squeezed his eyes shut as he reached a shaky hand towards his phone. He felt his fingers wrap around the cool metal as he brought his arm back in front of him. He closed his eyes and willed it to be Sunday. He willed everything to be a dream.

_Please just let me be crazy._

When Keith clicked the lock button on the side of his phone, a massive wave of fear washed over him. Just like the past three days, his phone screen read Saturday, November fourteenth. Except this time, it was 4:08 AM.

Keith dropped his phone next to him as he sat up in his bed. He stared blankly ahead at the wall. His vision blurred, and he felt hot tears sting his face. He stayed like this for what seemed like hours. Tear after salty tear staining the bed sheets beneath him. When he finally got up it was almost 4:45 AM. Keith swung his legs around the bed and made his way to his bedroom window. He pulled open the curtain, expecting to see a snow covered front yard, but was faced with snow matted against the window pane.

Keith thought back to the blizzard the day before. How it ruined his plans. How it made him and Lance stay home from work. How it made Pidge emerge from their house. How Pidge disappeared. How Lance died.

_How Pidge disappeared._

Keith knew it was crazy to blame the repeated death of his friend on Pidge, but he had no other leads. Once Keith really thought about it, Pidge was near Keith all three days. The first two at Barnes and Noble and the third shoveling their driveway. Keith glanced at his phone, realizing it was way too early to go over and confront a 14 year old for the death of his friend, but he was almost sure he was losing his mind. Keith figured this somewhat justified the means. And even if it didn't, he was going to do it anyway.

Keith pulled on a pair of jeans, a thick sweater and some shoes before making his way downstairs. He didn't bother shutting the door behind him, as it was five in the morning and he was just going across the street. Besides, if someone really wanted to rob him, he didn't care. Burglary was the least of Keith's concerns.

He padded across the silent street leaving a trail of combat boot shaped footprints behind him. When he got to Pidge's house, he knocked a little too loudly. There was no answer. He knocked and waited four more times, but no one came. Keith reached for the handle and realized the door had been unlocked the whole time. Keith stepped inside and quietly shut the door behind him.

"This is always when the white people die," Keith mumbled nervously, "thank God I'm Korean."

Keith walked into the room directly next to the entrance. It didn't take him long to realize that the first floor was almost entirely empty. There was a small couch and a television from the 90s in the corner. The kitchen housed a folding table and two folding chairs. There were a few plates and cups on the counter, along with an empty milk container and a box of Cocoa Puffs. The living room was bare bones, so Keith figured he'd make his way upstairs.

As he expected, everything was empty. At the end of the hall, however, there was a room that looked to actually have things inside of it. Keith nudged the door open and found a mattress against the back wall. There were a few pictures hanging up. Two were of Pidge with a boy Keith didn't recognize, and one was of Keith and Lance. A cold sweat dripped down Keith's spine. Keith glanced at the other side of the room and realized there were probably one hundred or so, aged, leather notebooks, stacked on top of each other.

"Um, can I help you?" the voice froze Keith in his spot. He took a deep breath before turning around to face who he prayed was Pidge.

"Morning, Pidge," Keith laughed and waved, trying not to seem scared out of his mind. Not only was Pidge far more intimidating than he remembered, but they also had a picture of him and Lance on what he assumed to be their bedroom wall.

"You didn't answer my question," they demanded.

"I think you killed Lance. Three times. And are going to later today," Keith blurted out. Pidge's face was completely devoid of emotion, almost as if this was an accusation they received frequently.

"How about I go make some coffee," Pidge patted Keith on his shoulder.

"What?"

"Let me rephrase, I'm going to make coffee for both of us, and you're to explain to me how you came to this conclusion."

"You're not denying it," Keith furrowed his brow as he followed Pidge back downstairs. Instead of answer Keith's mumbles, Pidge merely sighed.

When they reached the kitchen, Keith sat down in one of the folding chairs. Pidge pulled out all of the necessary items to make coffee. They share an ugly silence before Keith decided to break it with what he thought to be an appropriate question.

"So you live here alone?" 

"Kind of," Pidge answered as the scent of brewing coffee filled the kitchen.

"The guy in those pictures, who is that?"

"My friend."

"He doesn't live with you?"

"I said friend not brother. And, no, Matt doesn't live with me either."

A couple of minutes passed and Pidge finally sat down at the table, handing Keith a cup of coffee. 

"Start explaining."

"Well, this is the fourth time I've lived through this day, as in Saturday, November fourteenth. Each time it's been different. Different scenarios, different times I wake up. But no matter how the day has gone, Lance has died. And somehow, you were near me at some point during all those days. Plus, Saturday number three. or yesterday, whatever you want to call it, you were out shoveling your driveway. And then when the car finally hit Lance, you were just gone," Keith finished. Now that he had said it all out loud, he realized he sounded absolutely insane. Pidge agreed.

"That's it?"

"Well, you also have that picture of me and Lance in your room," Keith pointed out.

"Yeah, because you asked me to take a picture of you guys over the summer because I was the only person around to take it. Lance gave me a copy as a "thing to remind me of you guys", even thought i literally live across the street from you" they shrugged. Keith the recalled that he had, in fact, asked Pidge to take a picture of he and Lance. He also remembered Lance giving Pidge a copy of the photo. Keith had told Lance it was stupid because Pidge could remember them by looking out their window. Lance had then insisted, saying it was a token of gratitude for taking the picture. Everything Keith said was being easily disproved, and Keith had never felt more lost.

"So you haven't killed Lance three days in a row and aren't planning to do it again today?" Keith asked, looking at the swirling black coffee in front of him.

"Look, Keith, as much as I want to help you, and as much I want to believe your going through some Bill Murray _Groundhog Day_ type stuff, I can't. I've got plenty of my own stuff to deal with and honestly, I think you just need to sleep this off. It was probably just some really awful long dream," Pidge admitted. Keith wanted to scream. He wanted them to know that he had tried sleeping. That no matter the location, no matter the weather, Lance was going to die, and Keith was going to have to watch it. He didn't care how stupid Pidge's advice was, he just wanted something to steer him in some sort of direction. Keith didn't care much which direction it was, as long as it lead to this cycle ending.

"You don't have any other advice?" Keith ask, defeat eminent in his voice.

"Sleep? Watch Groundhog Day or something? But, seriously Keith, I think this is all in your head. It'll be over tomorrow morning."

Keith stood up and began making his way towards the door.

"Sorry for breaking in," Keith laughed halfheartedly.

"It's alright, maybe it'll remind me to lock the door. Sorry for making you think I'm a time traveling serial killer," Pidge smiled.

"Thanks for not being one," Keith stepped out onto Pidge's porch, "I'll see you around Pidge."

Pidge only waved in response. Keith made his way back across the street, more lost and confused than he was before.

 

Keith sat on his living room couch trying to understand what had happened. He had called himself out of work again so he was able to sit and think. He ran through everything in his head, over and over again, trying to make some sort of sense of his situation. The only conclusion he came to was that if Lance was near him, he was going to die. So, Keith figured he had to keep Lace as far away from him as possible.

He glanced down at his phone and realized that Lance had informed him that the author was pushing the meetup back a week because his flight had been delayed.

_Perfect, now he won't have a reason to see me._

Keith quickly texted Lance that it was for the best and that he wasn't feeling very good anyway. Lance told Keith to feel better and to let Lance know if he needed anything.

Keith laid back on his couch and breathed a sigh of relief.

_Finally, I'm getting out of this hell loop._

The day flew by and by the time knew it it was 7:30 and he still hadn't eaten anything. The grumbling from his stomach resembled that of a monster. He knew there was no food in the house, because his parents had been out of town this week and Keith had made himself food broke. Except for the coffee and grapes that magically reappeared at the beginning of every God awful Saturday. So, Keith opted to order himself pizza. It wasn't his favorite, but it was either that or Jimmy John's, and the last time he ordered Jimmy John's the delivery guy was not freaky nor fast. He was 45 and told Keith a story about how life was "when he was a boy."

The pizza place informed Kieth it would be $15.04 and wold take about 45 minutes. So, Keith resumed his position on his couch and patiently waited for the day to come to a close. When his doorbell rang, he expected to see the pizza man, but instead, was greeted with and overly enthusiastic Lance.

"What are you doing here?" Keith said as the blood drained from his face.

"Oh shit, Keith, you were right, you look awful," Lance teased. He was holding a pint of Ben and Jerry's and his own version or MarioKart. Keith wrapped his hand around Lance's wrist and pulled him inside.

"Well, this is an issue," Keith said, observing a very confused Lance.

"What is?" Lance asked as Keith unhanded his arm.

"You. Being here. I did not want to see you, but now that you're here you're not leaving my sight," Keith pointed to his kitchen. Lance furrowed his brows and made his way to the kitchen table where he sat down. Keith sat down across from him, eyes lazer-focused on his friend.

"I was only trying to make you feel better," Lance said. He sounded mildly upset, but the concern  for Keith was far more prominent.

"I would explain, Lance, I would, but you would not believe me," Keith said, not taking his eyes off of Lance.

"Oooookay. Can we at least eat the ice cream," Lance held up the pint of Phish Food for Keith to see.

"Fine, stay there," Keith said. He got up to get a spoon, eyes on Lance the entire time. Lance's facial expression went from sympathetic, to full on freaked out. Keith retrieved two spoons and moved into the seat next to Lance so they could eat. Before Keith could get a spoonful, the doorbell rang again.

"Who's that?" Lance asked.

"The pizza guy," Keith made his way to the door.

"Pizza guy? You never eat pizza when you're sick? Keith what is going on?" Lance sounded somewhat amused at this point, almost as if he believed he was about to be pranked.

Keith opened the door, and handed the twenty to the delivery guy without looking up.

"Hey, Keith," the delivery guy said. Keith looked up and was met with the face of one of his and Lance's friends.

"Hunk? Since when did you become a delivery guy?"

"A while ago, I needed something to do. I don't have any change by the way. Is that Lance?" Hunk motioned to the boy savagely eating ice cream at Keith's kitchen table, "Hey Lance!"

"Hunk! My buddy! I'd come over and say hi but Keith won't let me get up from the table," Lance shot Keith a dirty look. 

"Long story," Keith smiled. Hunk handed Keith the pizza and began to turn away when Lance started making a racket.

"Jesus, Lance, what?" Keith turned around to find Lance with his hands clasped around his neck, " _Fuuuuuuuuuuck_. You've got to be fucking kidding right now. Please God tell me you know the Heimlich, Hunk."

Hunk sprinted inside and tried to get Lance to stop choking. After about two minutes of Hunk violently administering the Heimlich, Keith felt the day begin to restart as the blanket of white began to cover his mind.

"God daaa-"

 


	3. Day Five 4:42 AM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything felt as if it was falling apart while falling into place.

_Day Five_

_4:42 AM_

"aaaaamit," Keith immediately jumped out of his bed, not even bothering to look at his phone, "Really? Choking? We go from three days of getting absolutely wrecked by a car to choking? And on ice cream! How does that even work?! It melts! It fucking melts that's the whole point! So let me know, shitty, shitty universe, how you swung that one!"

Keith took a deep breath, sat down on the edge of his bed and allowed himself to calm down. He wasn't upset anymore; he was furious. It was as if the universe was finding any way to say "Fuck you!" to Keith. He was forced to face his greatest fear of losing someone he cared about, over and over again. He was fed up with the cycle, and wanted it over. But, he had no idea how to even begin to get that to happen. He had stopped worrying about work, because he knew he wouldn't actually get in trouble. The day would repeat itself and he'd have another chance the next time around. He was also fully convinced that Pidge was not the one to blame. He had absolutely no leads and no one to help him. However, a small piece of him still made him feel as though Pidge would be able to help. They had mentioned a movie and since Keith didn't really see as this was the situation to sit back and watch Bill Murray live through the same thing, he figured he'd ask Pidge to explain. And maybe, just maybe, they remembered Keith barging into their house yesterday morning.

Keith got dressed once again and made his way back across the street. The snow had filled in his previous footprints as if it were erasing him. When he got to Pidge's house he opted not to knock and just began talking.

"Pidge. I have no idea what time it is, but I know you're in there, and I know you're awake. So please, please come let me in. I know we're not, like, close by any means, but I need your help. I have literally no one else," Keith begged at the front door. He waited for what felt like an eternity. Then, finally, the door opened, and Pidge appeared.

"You look horrible," they teased.

"So I've been told," he laughed. Pidge opened the door and motioned for Keith to come inside. They lead him to the kitchen where there were two cups of coffee, just like the day before. The pair sat down and Pidge waved their hand, telling Keith to begin.

"Okay, I want to start off by saying, this is going to sound absolutely insane, so bear with me please," Keith pleaded. 

"I've heard crazy, how bad can it be?"

"Okay. Five days ago, even though the dates haven't changed, I got stuck in some sort of horrible time warp thing. It's not like the day is exactly the same, because the weather is different, the time I wake up is different, the things I say, people I see, things I and others do are all different. The only thing that has been at all consistent is the Lance has died every time, not including today," Pidge's face was contorted at this point, but Keith continued, "Yesterday morning, I came over here because for some reason I blamed you. I needed someone to blame and somehow my head puts two and two together and got five. So even though you probably don't remember, I'm sorry. Anyway, you had mentioned this movie to me. _Groundhog Day_  . You said it was basically what I was going through. And seeing as I'm not really in the place to sit back and watch a movie, I figured I'd come here and have you explain it to me, so maybe I can figure out how to get this to stop."

Pidge was speechless. Their mouth hung open and their eyes were wide. Keith felt his face get hot. After a long, uncomfortable silence, Pidge spoke.

"Well, I underestimated you, that's for sure," they took a long sip of coffee, " _Groundhog Day_ , huh?"

Keith nodded furiously and took a sip out of his cup. 

"Well, Bill Murray is a weatherman in the movie and he predicts that this giant snow storm is going to miss where he lives. Then, he's wrong and he has to keep repeating Groundhog Day until he gets it right. You realize you could have looked that up right?" Pidge smiles softly, "Except, now that you've explained to me your supposed situation, I'm not so sure you're going through the same thing. In the movie, the days are exactly the same. I'm pretty sure no one dies either, though I could be wrong. Also, I'm pretty sure he just has to live a perfect day get it to stop. I've got no idea what you're supposed to do to get out of this. So, it begs the question, why does Lance keep dying?"

"I don't know. The first three times it was a car and yesterday he miraculously choked on ice cream," Keith shrugged. Pidge rubbed their temples. Then, their eyes shot open.

"I know that I'm feeding into your craziness right now, but I kind of have an idea," they said, "It's less of a Groundhog Day situation and has more of a quote-unquote scientific basis. It ties into the idea that there are multiple universes. This particular theory, however, says that you're experiencing a specific day in your life from a different universe. Basically, you're living different versions of Saturday, November fourteenth over and over again. Except you have no idea what universe it is. The factor that's ties them all together is Lance dying. The only thing that deviates from the theory is that the day changes for you every time. You change your actions, which is fine, but so does everyone around you. According to this whole quantum mechanics thing that shouldn't be possible.  But, that's why it's a theory."

"So, I'm living different versions of my life from different somewhat parallel universes?"

"Pretty much."

"So, how do I stop it?" Keith was glad he had some sort of explanation for what was happening, no matter how ridiculous it sounded, but he still didn't have a solution.

"Well, Lance dying is obviously the reason why your day keeps repeating, so maybe don't let him die?" Pidge said in an obvious tone.

"I've tried, but fate, or death or whatever, always seems to find him," Keith shrugs.

"Okay then why do you think he's dying? Not how it happens, but why? Is there anything you can think of? Why you got stuck in this loop of watching your best friend die?" Pidge asked. It was a thought-provoking question. Keith didn't remember pissing of any could-be gods or goddesses. He had no idea why this would happen to him.

"To fuck me up mentally for the rest of my life?" Keith shrugged. If that was the end goal of this, it was definitely working.

"I'm serious Keith. It's Lance for a reason. You have to have an idea of why?"

"Well, he's my best friend. Killing him is like killing a piece of me. I still don't know how that makes this any clearer," Keith was starting to get antsy. Pidge, however, looked as if there had been a fire lit behind their eyes.

"Why is it like killing a piece of you?" Pidge egged him on. They seemed to be onto something but didn't appear to be in the mood for sharing.

"Because he means a lot to me? Isn't that obvious?" Keith thought this was stupid. He didn't know what Pidge was playing at but he was sure he didn't like it.

"Why does he mean a lot to you?"

"Because he's my best friend, Pidge. You've got me talking in circles now. What are you expecting me to say? That I'm in love with Lance?" 

As soon as he said it, it was as if someone had flipped on a light in his brain. He was completely frozen. His head was buzzing and his entire body felt warm and numb at the same time. His heart pounded in his chest. Everything felt as if it was falling apart while falling into place.

"I'm in love with Lance?" Keith finally spoke. His face showed every emotion under the sun. Fear mixed with happiness. Anxiety mixed with certainty. Pidge only shrugged.

"I'm in love with Lance," Keith whispered this time, "I'm in love with Lance."

Pidge smiled. The two weren't close, and one may not even consider them friends. But, from the outside looking in, one would see Pidge very happy for Kieth, despite their lack of companionship.

"So," Pidge tried to help Keith figure out his solution.

"So, this universe thing was trying to get me to realize that. I felt it. As soon as I said it," Keith admitted.

"Well, now you have to use this to stop the whole multiple universe shit show you're in," Pidge reminded Keith that he still didn't know how to stop this.

"I think maybe I've got it sorted out," Pidge nodded for Keith to continue, "for whatever reason, I got stuck in this situation to make me realize that if I don't get my shit together and realize I love Lance, I'll lose him. It would've been nice if instead of dying every day he got a girlfriend or boyfriend or something, but life's shitty like that isn't it?"

"Indeed it is," Pidge agreed. There was a wistful tone to their voice, but Keith didn't feel like prying, "what are you going to do now?"

"Well, I have to tell him don't I? Part one to ending the shitty time loop was probably me figuring it out. Part two is telling Lance and praying that it works. And also praying that I don't lose my best friend," Keith's voice trailed off. He hadn't considered the enormous possibility of Lance not feeling the same way. It scared Keith, but not enough to get him to back out of it. As long as he didn't have to watch Lance die anymore, he would be fine.

"Go do it then," Pidge said.

"Shouldn't I wait until tonight? Like, literally, 11:59. That way there's no time in between me telling him and him reacting for him to die?" Keith wondered, expecting Pidge to have an answer.

"Up to you, kid. From what you've told me, he'll be fine as long as you're not near him for more than five minutes," Pidge shrugged, "I guess it just depends on when you're ready to tell your best friend that you're in love with him."

Pidge was right. Everything depended on Keith now. All he had to do was avoid Lance until later tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> This will be multiple parts. Also what do you guys think? Is Lance James Potter or Remus Lupin?


End file.
